Educational game

ABSTRACT

A customizable educational game having a plurality of quiz cards, a plurality of different modes the complexity under which the game is to be played, and at least two rule cards designating rules for at least two different modes of play.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application 61/391,800 filed Oct. 11, 2010 by the present inventors and the application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

NAMES OF PARTIES TO JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING

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DESCRIPTION OF ATTACHED APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The disclosed is a customizable game for teaching a variety of educational subject matters. More specifically, the disclosed game further teaches the player decision making skills and the principles of cause and effect.

2. Description of Related Art

Board games, and even educationally based board games, are well known in the prior art, however most known board games do not increase one's knowledge of educational subject matters while simultaneously increasing one's decision making skills and understanding of cause and effect. Nor are they fully customizable to varying ages and knowledge levels. Most board games are designed to be played in a very specific way and little can be done to modify the game such that it can grow with the player, such that it can serve more than one important educational function and so that it can be different each time that it is played.

One of the few known games that actually teaches decision making and the principles of cause and effect is the well known game of chess. The game of chess, rather than using a linear “die and track” concept, actually requires the player to strategize and choose from one of several possible plays in order to advance to a desired outcome. For this reason, chess has long been upheld as one of the most intellectually stimulating of games. Chess however, does not enhance a player's knowledge of any specific subjects during play, rather it is merely a game of strategy in moving various pieces around the board to conquer the opponent's pieces.

Children love to play board games. Children also love to learn, provided the educational materials and environment are fun for them. It is further known that students retain more when educational matter is provided to them in an engaging and interactive fashion.

One of the most common forms of interactive learning for children (and even adults) are flashcards. Flashcards help engage the student and are a useful tool, however their entertainment component can be somewhat low compared to their higher education component, causing the student to quickly lose interest.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,700 entitled “Playing Cards for an Educational Game” describes an invention surrounding a pack of playing cards used for playing an educational game. The cards correspond to, and have on their, face a die-face. This invention attempts to make flash cards more entertaining by tying the flashcard to rolls of the dice. U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,844 entitled “Educational Board Game” describes a board game in conjunction with a deck of cards wherein the cards teach the players idiomatic expressions by showing a symbol and requiring the player to respond with the appropriate expression.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,780 entitled “Sports Trivia Game” describes a game having a board, tokens and playing cards wherein the player's knowledge of basketball trivia is tested. U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,808 is entitled “Trivia Board Game” and is a board game based on trivia associated with STAR TREK. This game is based on trivia questions pertaining to a specific entertainment based subject. U.S. Pat. No. 7,604,235 pertains to a “Board Game to Help Develop Word Recognition and Spelling Skills” Although this game is educationally geared, it is not customizable and does not enable one to modify the game for play by those of different ages and ability, nor for play in different settings. It does not teach the user decision making or critical thinking skills, nor the principles of cause and effect. U.S. Pat. No. 7,604,236 is entitled “Language Learning Board Game” and is an educational board game pertaining to vocabulary elements, but similarly lacks the advantages and characteristics of the disclosed game.

What is needed is a highly entertaining and interactive game that enhances the player's knowledge of various educational subjects while simultaneously stimulating the player's decision making skills, critical thinking skills and knowledge of the principles of cause and effect. The game needs to be easily customizable to cater to players of different ages and knowledge levels. The game should be flexible in its potential applications such that it can be played in a variety of ways and under different circumstances, thus encouraging the player to continue to play, and thus learn more educational subjects, over and over again, whether at home, at school, or on the road.

NOTATION AND NOMENCLATURE

Certain terms are used throughout the following description to refer to particular method components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, design and manufacturing companies may refer to a component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function.

In the following discussion, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . ” Also, the term “couple” or “couples” is intended to mean either an indirect or direct connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct connection or through an indirect connection via other intermediate devices and connections. Moreover, the term “method” means “one or more components” combined together. Thus, a method can comprise an “entire method” or “sub methods” within the method.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The disadvantages shown in the prior art are solved by a novel game that is highly customizable and that teaches a variety of educational subject matters in such a way that as the user progresses they also learn decision making and critical thinking skills as well as the principles of cause and effect.

It is an objective of the disclosed game to serve as an entertaining educational tool.

It is an objective of the disclosed game to teach a variety of educational subjects.

It is an objective of the disclosed game to teach decision making skills

It is an objective of the disclosed game to teach critical thinking skills

It is an objective of the disclosed game to teach principles of cause and effect.

It is an objective of the disclosed game to enable the players to customize the complexity of the levels of the game.

It is an objective of the disclosed game to provide a game that can be played under a variety of circumstances.

It is an objective of the disclosed game to provide a game wherein the quiz cards and, accordingly the educational subject matters, can be continually expanded and modified.

It is an objective of the disclosed game to encourage a player's own creativity.

It is an objective of the disclosed game to engage players to learn useful information in an entertaining manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings contained herein represent preferred embodiments of the invention and are not intended to limit the scope. For a detailed description of various embodiments, reference will now be made to the accompanying illustrative drawings in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of the game board, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the disclosed invention.

FIG. 2 depicts a view of the front and back of a quiz card, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the disclosed invention.

FIG. 3 depicts a view of the front and back of an example rule card, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the disclosed invention.

FIG. 4 depicts a view of the front and back of an example rule card, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the disclosed invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The disclosed game achieves the advantages described above and overcomes the shortfalls described in the prior patents. The disclosed game enables the user to learn about a variety of educational topics, while doing so in a very entertaining and interactive manner. In so doing, the invention not only holds the attention of the players but continues to hold their attention over years of use, as the game is continually expanded, supplemented and customized by the players.

With reference to the attached figures, the disclosed game is described below in detail. The game is indicated to be played by two to six players, although other numbers are possible.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the disclosed, the novel educational game includes a game board having a linear sequence of consecutive color coded tile spaces, at least one die, a plurality of colored game pieces or pawns corresponding to the number of players, a plurality of quiz cards of multiple levels of difficulty, and a plurality of rule cards proscribing the specific play rules for a certain mode of play, of which there are several possible modes to choose from.

The quiz cards in the game will feature questions corresponding to various educational subjects, for example, spelling, math, geography, history and a variety of other educational topics. The quiz cards will be available in various difficulty level formats. For example, for each subject matter there may be four difficulty levels (Level I, II, III and IV, ranging in difficulty from Level 1 being easiest to Level IV being hardest). The four difficulty levels will correspond to spaces on the board game for four decks. Upon purchase of the game, the buyer will receive a starter pack incorporating one or more subjects, for example, perhaps math quiz cards of all four difficulty levels. The user may then change out or add to subjects by later purchasing supplemental card decks as desired in other educational subjects and topics. Topics may include specialized areas or theme areas that can be licensed such as quiz cards pertaining to celebrities, for example James Bond.

FIG. 1 illustrates the educational game in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the disclosed invention, illustrating a perspective view of the game board 10 which is shown as a four sided board of a square shape, although other shapes may be contemplated. The game board 10 reveals sequential tile spaces in the traditional “die and track” method wherein the players roll the dice and progress along a track, with the first to finish being the winner. The game board 10 reveals a weaving game path 12 of contiguous tile spaces beginning at the “Start” 14 space and ending at the “Finish” 16 space (other numbers of tile spaces may be contemplated). The spaces are color coded with five colors which may be the primary colors of red, green, yellow, blue and a neutral zone which may be represented by white, although other colors may be contemplated. Two of the spaces are star spaces 18, although other numbers of star spaces may be contemplated. In FIG. 1, the first several tile spaces depict example colors. In the figure each tile space is not labeled, rather just a few are labeled for purposes of example, but it is presumed that the color scheme would continue on along the entire track of the game. The board further reflects four color coded deck spaces, corresponding to the colors of the tile spaces, with the exception of the neutral zone tile space which has no corresponding deck space, as no questions have to be answered when a player lands on a neutral space. The deck spaces 20 are used to place the quiz cards. There is also a rule card space 22 for the chosen Rule Card.

In practice, to begin the game, each player selects a colored pawn. The players then decide and agree on which mode of play will be used. The players then select the rule card corresponding to the selected mode of play (further described below) and the rule-card is placed on the deck space marked “Rule Card.” Four stacks, each comprising a plurality of quiz cards, are individually shuffled and placed face down on each of the deck spaces.

As an example, the green deck space may indicate quiz cards of difficulty Level I, the yellow deck indicating quiz cards of difficulty Level II, the blue deck indicating quiz cards of difficulty Level III and the red cards indicating quiz cards of difficulty Level IV (other colors may be used and these colors are provided for example purposes only). Each colored deck space corresponds to the same colored tile space. The difficulty levels progress in difficulty from Level Ito Level IV, Level I being the easiest and Level IV being the most difficult.

In the preferred embodiment, the game is played with a different level of cards in each of the four stacks, however in an alternative embodiment, the players may choose to make all four decks one specific level. As an example, if young children are playing then perhaps all four deck spaces of quiz cards would be Level I. All deck spaces may comprise one subject matter or more than one.

To begin play, all players place their selected pawns or game pieces at the “Start” position. Each player then rolls the dice to determine who will start first. The player with the highest roll starts first, as is typical of many games. During a player's turn, the player will roll the dice and move the pawn in the exact amount as shown on the dice. If the game piece lands on a color tile, one of the other players picks up the first card from the deck space having the corresponding color and asks the question printed on the back of the card.

The quiz card is shown in FIG. 2 in a preferred embodiment, depicting the front side 30 with the question and answer and the back side 32 showing the subject matter and the level of difficulty. Other designs and styles of the cards are possible.

The advancement of the player's pawn will depend on the player's response, whether correct or incorrect, as well as depend on what rule card the players selected at the beginning of play, as explained in more detail herein.

In an embodiment, the star tiles represent advancement tiles, for example, if the pawn lands on the first white tile with the star, the pawn will automatically advance to the next white tile with the star. In the represented embodiment, as there are only two tiles with stars, if the pawn lands on the second white tile with the star the pawn stays on that tile and the player's turn ends. The number of star tiles may be modified and two is not essential to the disclosed.

In an embodiment, to reach “Finish,” the player must have the exact dice roll that corresponds to the number of tiles to reach “Finish.”

The game may be played using the board game mode and alternatively may be played without the board game to enable further customization and versatility of the game.

With regard to play using the board game, the game offers a plurality of different modes that designate the complexity under which the game is to be played. Each mode offers a progressively more complex method of playing the game. For most modes a specific Rule Card governs the rules of the play.

Fundamental Mode: The Fundamental mode is geared for small children or those wishing an easier difficulty level. In one embodiment of this mode, the game can be played with no quiz cards and no rule card at all. This mode is designed to teach children merely to roll the dice and count spaces, teaching rudimentary math. In a more advanced embodiment of this mode, the game can be played with only one stack of quiz cards, although as the skill level increases, the players may add additional stacks, gradually working their way up to Beginner Mode. For example, a player may choose to place a stack of quiz cards on the green and play with just that stack. If the players land on the other colored tiles other than green, they need not answer any questions. For this embodiment the Beginner Rule Card is placed on the Rule Card deck space. The Beginner Rule Card specifies that the players answer the questions on quiz cards when their pawn lands on the corresponding color tile where the quiz card was placed. A correct answer (see FIG. 3 depicting the front side 34 and the back side 36 of an example Beginner Rule Card) enables the player to advance based on the color tile the player is on. The Rule Card specifies that correct answers corresponding to the colored tile spaces will allow the player to move forward as follows: Green: 1 space; Yellow: 2 spaces; Blue: 3 spaces; Red: 4 spaces. In this mode if the player answers incorrectly there is no penalty incurred (see back side 36 of FIG. 3).

Beginner Mode: In this mode, the Beginner Rule Card is again selected and placed on the board. The difference between the Fundamental Mode and Beginner Mode is that in the Beginner Mode a stack of cards is placed on each of the four deck spaces, rather than just one difficulty level of cards being used. The players may use Levels I, II, III, IV or a combination of the levels as they wish, for example, all Level II cards on the board.

Intermediate Mode: In this mode the Intermediate Rule Card is selected and placed on the board. The Intermediate Rule Card specifies the same rules as the Beginner Rule Card with the exception that an incorrect answer in this mode penalizes the player by requiring the player to move back a number of spaces corresponding to the color tile the player is currently on.

Expert Mode: In this mode the Expert Rule Card is selected and placed on the board. This mode teaches decision making and critical thinking skills. In this mode, each correct answer of a quiz card (as shown in FIG. 4 picturing the front side 40 of an example Rule Card) allows the player to choose from one of the following three decisions: 1) advance the player's own piece a number of spaces based on the color tile the player is on, similar to the prior modes described above; 2) Choose not to advance. In that case the player can penalize another player by forcing the other player to move back the same number of tile spaces that the person with the correct answer was entitled to move forward. The penalized player is not required to answer a question after the penalization move is completed; 3) Choose not to advance, choosing instead to force one of the other players to lose a turn. No player can lose more than one turn. If all the other players are in the “Lose a Turn” situation, the original player may roll the dice again, advance, and the player is not required to answer another question.

In the Expert Mode, under the Expert Rule Card, a player's incorrect answer (as shown in FIG. 4 picturing the back side 42 of an example Expert Rule Card) of a quiz card may trigger one of the following actions: if the player's roll is between 1 and 3, the player is forced to move back a number of spaces based on the color tile the player is currently on. The player's turn ends after the penalization move is completed. If the player's roll is between 4 and 6, the player automatically “Loses a Turn.”

Ultimate Challenge Mode: In this mode the quiz cards are shuffled and mixed, incorporating the whole variety of available subjects and levels and the cards are placed evenly on all four deck spaces (for example, fifty cards per space, although other numbers may be used). The game is then played using the Expert Rule Card.

Creative Mode: In this mode, the players determine their own rules of the game. Blank rules cards are provided so that the players may create their rules and place their written rule card on the board to govern that game's play.

Example

In an example of the game when spelling is the subject, the following application of the difficulty levels would apply. Level I=spell words of 3 letters or fewer; Level II=spell words of 5 letters or fewer; Level III=spell words of 7 letters or fewer, Level IV=spell words of 8 or more letters.

In an alternative embodiment, and more specifically, when playing under the Creative Mode, the players may choose rather than to place the quiz cards on the four deck spaces sorted by level of difficulty, they may “mix and match” and place the quiz cards on the four desk spaces sorted by subject matter. For example, the user may choose to put all spelling cards on the green deck space, all geography cards on the blue deck space, all math cards on the yellow deck space and all history cards on the red space or any desired combination thereto. The deck spaces may therefore be customized in a wide variety of manners, by either difficulty level or subject matter or both, enabling the game to be extremely versatile for players. This not only makes the game appealing to a very large audience but further makes the game continually stay “fresh” by allowing the players to creatively change the game.

The game is not only a painless and fun way to convey educational information to children/adults but also incorporates a cause and effect component, teaching the effect of decisions. For example, in the Expert Mode if the player chooses to penalize another player rather than advance his own game piece, the outcome may be favorable or non-favorable. Similar to chess, strategy must be employed to make the right decision and best advance the player's own goals.

In an alternative embodiment the game may still be played in a limited fashion even if it is not practical to use the game board. This is ideal for airplane travel, vehicle travel, hotels or other situations where it may be difficult to carry around a bulky game board. A pen and paper is needed to keep track of scoring when playing without the board. To play, the desired subject, level of difficulty and number of questions (example, 10 or 20) is selected. The quiz cards are shuffled and placed face down. One player draws a card and asks the other player the question. Once the answer is given the quiz card is returned to the bottom of the deck. The players ask each other questions in alternating sequence until the desired number of questions have been asked. Scoring is based on the rule card selected but the player with the most points at the end of the game wins. The rules are slightly different than those used for the game board embodiment.

Beginner Mode: In this mode each correct answer earns the player one point regardless of the level of the card played and there is no penalty for incorrect answers.

Intermediate Mode: Each correct answer earns the player points based on the level of difficulty of the quiz cards. Level I=1 point; Level II=2 points: Level III=3 points; Level IV=4 points. The player with the most points at the end wins.

Expert Mode: Each correct answer earns the player points based on the level of difficulty of the quiz cards. Level I=1 point; Level II=2 points: Level III=3 points; Level IV=4 points. Each point acquired helps the player to advance their goal as the player with the most points at the end wins. Each incorrect answer penalizes the player by causing the player to lose the corresponding number of points based on the level of difficulty selected.

Ultimate Challenge Mode: Shuffle and mix the quiz cards (all subjects, all levels) and place the cards as one single deck.

Creative Mode: Create own rules.

The disclosed method and game offers a widely customizable means for imparting educational information in an entertaining and engaging manner and in a format that may constantly be changed and freshened by different quiz cards and different rules, or by playing the game with or without the game board.

While the disclosed method and apparatus has been described in conjunction with the preferred embodiments thereof, many changes, modifications, alterations and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The invention should therefore not be limited to the particular preferred embodiment disclosed but should include all embodiments that could fall within the scope of the claims.

Accordingly, the preferred embodiments of the invention shown in the drawings and described in detail above are intended to be illustrative, not limiting, and various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims set forth below. 

1. A customizable educational game, the game comprising: a plurality of quiz cards sorted into groups, each group covering questions of a specific educational subject matter and within the groups, the cards further being sorted into at least two different levels of difficulty; a plurality of different modes designating the complexity under which the game is to be played; at least two rule cards designating rules for at least two of the different modes of play complexity, wherein at least one of the rule cards provides a rule penalizing the player for incorrect answers and wherein at least one of the rule cards provides a rule requiring the player to, upon achieving a correct answer, make a decision whether to advance or to penalize another player.
 2. The game of claim 1 further incorporating a game board having a plurality of consecutive color coded tile spaces along which a player advances and at least two color coded deck spaces on which to place quiz cards, the tile space colors coordinating with the color coded deck spaces.
 3. The board of claim 2 further incorporating a rule card space for placing the rule card governing the mode of play.
 4. The game of claim 1 wherein the plurality of different modes are selected from the group consisting of: fundamental, beginner, intermediate, expert, ultimate challenge and creative.
 5. The game of claim 4 wherein the creative mode further provides that the players may mix and match the quiz cards as desired by subject matter or level of difficulty.
 6. The game of claim 1 wherein the rule cards are selected from the group consisting of: beginner, intermediate and expert.
 7. A customizable educational board game, the game comprising: a board game having a sequential track along which a pawn representing each player advances upon a player correctly answering a question from a quiz card; a plurality of quiz cards divided into groups, each group covering questions of a specific educational subject matter and within the groups, the cards further being sorted into at least two different levels of difficulty; a plurality of different modes designating the complexity under which the game is to be played, at least one of which modes allows the players to create their own rules; at least two rule cards designating rules for at least two of the different modes of play difficulty, wherein at least one of the rule cards provides a rule penalizing the player for incorrect answers and wherein at least one of the rule cards provides a rule requiring the player to, upon achieving a correct answer, make a decision whether to advance or to penalize another player.
 8. The board game of claim 7 wherein the board further incorporates at least two deck spaces on which to place selected quiz cards.
 9. The board game of claim 7 wherein the board further incorporates a rule card space for placing the rule card governing the mode of play.
 10. The game of claim 7 wherein the plurality of different modes are selected from the group consisting of: fundamental, beginner, intermediate, expert, ultimate challenge and creative.
 11. The game of claim 7 wherein the rule cards are selected from the group consisting of: beginner, intermediate and expert. 